Social Issues in 'The Andromeda Strain'

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton is about the effects of a satellite filled with a dangerous virus (that mutated in space) crashes in a small town and how the virus kills everyone in the town and spreads to others and the government group that are dealing with it. It deals with many different social issues such as the lack of information that is often provided for the public in an emergency, discrimination of people because of weight, the sanitation issues in the event of such a virus spreading, and the control of scientific discoveries as well as the lack of funding for them. This makes one question the fairness of different classified pieces of information and what should and should not be withheld from the public.

This is supported by several pieces of evidence in the text, especially when it states that there is a government program that the characters in the book are involved with, and the file that one of them is reading is described: “...and underneath an ominous note: ‘ THIS FILE IS CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET. Examination by unauthorized persons is a criminal offense punishable by fines and imprisonment up to 20 years and $20,000.’ When Leavitt gave him the file, Hall had read the note and whistled. ‘Don’t you believe it,’ Leavitt said. ‘Just a scare?’ ‘Scare, hell,’ Leavitt said. ‘If the wrong man reads this file, he just disappears.’” This is an example of the issues with information withheld from the public because information not shared with the public should become more limited and discoveries in science and new government programs should be something publicized and not kept so hidden in order for people to understand what is going on in the world. One viewpoint not shown in this argument is that of the people who were unable to view this information, which gives the story an air of confidentiality and adventure rather than the view of an oppressive government and as a result, ignorant citizens. I think this would have created a very different tone and allowed readers to think more about this as a social issue rather than fiction.

An example of weight discrimination is when the author is describing the situation of one of the fictional characters in the book, who has been demoted to a job he does not particularly like because he is overweight. In the book it states that, “Arthur Manchek was an engineer, a quiet heavyset man plagued by labile hypertension, which threatened to end further promotions as an army officer. He had been advised on many occasions to lose weight, but had been unable to.” This show some of the social issues concerning weight and the discrimination against people who have issues with weight and blood pressure, especially in the army.

Because of this book, I now wonder a lot more about these problems and how the world should view the  topics of classified information and how one’s weight is viewed by employers. All of this could be better dealt with in the world so they are not as unfair to everyday people. I personally think that the government should not withhold as much information from the public as they do.